Best thing to do when your child has a cold is to wait it out

My younger colleague, a fellow pediatrician, looked and sounded pretty miserable. She had a terrible cold, which was no surprise considering she's exposed to sick kids on a daily basis. I watched her go through boxes of Kleenex and nights with no sleep and wondered if she'd cave in and put herself on a round of antibiotics.The next time I saw her, she was hard at work and looking great. I asked her if she treated herself. She responded with an emphatic "no," explaining that she hated taking antibiotics, and as she expected, was able to clear her cold all by herself, thank you very much.

I congratulated her on sticking to her principles. It's interesting to note that my friend is not alone in her resolve. In a recent study quoted in the pediatric press, medical folk were shown to be far less likely than the general public to seek out antibiotic therapy for their own children. What do they know that some parents still don't get? It's that the vast majority of upper respiratory infections are indeed viral, and antibiotics, while very effective against bacterial infections, are useless against viral illnesses. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, kids average 8 to 10 colds in their first two years of life - more if they're in day care or exposed to older siblings who attend school. When I see a child with a cold, I tell parents to expect their child's cold to last up to 10 to 14 days. Be prepared for cold symptoms to steadily worsen during the first five to seven days, and then slowly improve for the final five to seven days of the viral illness.

Parents often get hung up on the color of the snot, or nasal discharge as those of us in the medical field like to refer to it. Green discharge does not necessarily mean that an evil bacterium has entered your child's body. As the cold symptoms escalate during the early part of the illness, nasal discharge will characteristically change from watery clear to thick yellow or even green.If a cold is accompanied by ear pain, high fever or respiratory distress, or seems to be lasting a long time with no sign of improvement, then seek medical care. If not, it's best to wait it out, and watch the pattern reverse itself as the nasty nasal discharge becomes thinner and lighter in flow, and eventually disappears.

Do over-the-counter medicines cure your child's cold? The answer is no. If you find one that gives your older child some cold symptom relief, you can use the OTC medication. Be aware, however, that some children and adults do have undesirable side effects with OTC medications, including excessive drowsiness or hyperactivity.Cold medications that contain pseudoephedrine are still available without a prescription, but are now stocked behind the pharmaceutical counter to prevent abuse of the medication. You are now limited in the quantity that you may purchase at any one time, and you must sign and show a driver's license. Lastly, recent reports have emphasized that OTC medications generally should be avoided in children younger than 2 years old. Adverse side effects send approximately 1,500 of these youngest patients to U.S. emergency departments each year, and several infant deaths have been linked to OTC cough-cold preparations.

• Dr. Helen Minciotti is a mother of five and a pediatrician with a practice in Schaumburg. She formerly chaired the Department of Pediatrics at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

Courtesy of The Daily Herlad

Bonnie - it is wonderful to see a physician say this publicly. Per my sinus infection comments, it seems that many doctors may just be caving to their patients' requests. Because if what Dr. Minciotti says is true, many doctors do not use antibiotics on themselves or their kids.